Planners? Handwriting? But what about digital calendars? I admit it; I’m a paper-and-pen kind of girl. Especially when it comes to planning and scheduling my LIFE. I’ve often failed with digital planners and calendars (RIP Google Calendar) and keep returning to a good old fashion, usually hefty, planner. However, I’m starting to book into the new year now, so it’s time for me to choose and buy one. Wanting to try something a little different, I turned to Instagram for some suggestions.

 

And boy-oh-boy, you guys delivered!

 

By last night I had over 30 replies with either suggestion for places to get diaries and planners or requests to share the details when I got the one I am using. Here we are. The more I checked out the links and businesses, the more I decided it would have to be a post. Have a blog and will use it, right? So I’ve visited each seller and narrowed it down to a decent selection of planners and diaries that I loved the look of or idea behind. Let’s get started, shall we?

 

Planners and Diaries you Recommended

 

Write to Me

I love the focus of the Write to Me planners; the idea that you can take the things in your life, your schedule, your kids or your family schedule and move them to a planner is something I agree with. Highly recommend it for any time you feel anxious or overwhelmed; write it out. They offer a great selection of week-to-view 2020 planners (you won’t know this yet, but I’m a day-to-view kind of girl). And the cover designs (image above) are stunning. These planners are aimed at those juggling a family with excellent month view and planning page options.

 

Simplified by Emily Ley

Simplified by Emily Ley are an excellent day-to-view option and a beautiful, functional-looking planner. This one was SO attractive to me, as I often feel that planners can be overdone in the layout, which makes me feel like I’m writing in a novel, and well, I’m not about that defacing book life. This planner came SO highly recommended by the team on Instagram, and I can see why. It made my shortlist, but in the end, it lost out because I’m not into the wire-bound thing. I’ve done it before, but I’m a bit rough on planners, so it always ends up bent and busted. But if you’re more of an adult than me, I recommend checking this one out.

 

Saint Belford

I hadn’t heard of this brand before, which happened a lot. But there is a lot to love about the Curation planner. If you want more of a journal-style planner with so much room for planning, including savings goals, self-care plans and heaps more, this is for you. Despite my best intentions, I don’t tend to use those pages in a planner as much as I do the diary/schedule pages. That said, maybe this year will be different, right? Haha.

 

kikki K

A bit of an O.G. in the planner world, kikki K has been doing their thing with planners for YEARS. My first planner was from kikki K, and I always check out their new offerings before deciding which planner to get every year. I love that they sell refill packs so you can top up rather than buy a new planner; that’s a great option. That sort of thing comes in handy if you spill coffee in the second half of your year and need to replace it… In case that kind of thing happens to you. Just me? Okay, awkward. 

 

 

Leaders in Heels

The Leaders in Heels planners came highly recommended by women who own them. I can’t argue with that. And while the name’s whole ‘girl boss’ vibe isn’t my style, this is one hefty (love) planner with some excellent planning, goal setting and inspiration pages. This one made the shortlist of planners that I looked at buying for that reason. So if you want something that goes above and beyond, look at this one.

 

Kmart

This cheap and cheerful option came up a few times. I know that spending $80 on a planner isn’t how you try to pay for your life. The good news is that you won’t have to with Kmart and their cute 2020 range. Kmart is similar to Typo planners and diaries, which are also great. I picked up a monogrammed one for my sister for Christmas one year, which was beautiful.

Amelia Lane Paper

The best part I found about the Amelia Laner Paper planners is that they offer a few options for their planners in both week and day views. I’m usually a day-view kind of girl, but I had difficulty deciding which of these I preferred. They have desktop options (so chunky) right through to compact and half-year versions. The covers were feminine and exciting without being too much, and all in all, I loved these. In the end, I threw caution, and my budget, to the wind and went with the chunkiest of chunky girls, the Desk Day view option. I can’t wait for it to arrive (though I’ll have to, because I didn’t pay for express shipping because saving that $5 was important, apparently. H.A.).

 

 

Emma Kate Co

If you’ve been around the Australian blogosphere for a while, this name will be familiar. The brand was a blog first (and still is a beautiful blog, a must-read for those who love personal musings and stunning photography) based in beautiful Melbourne. So, if you want to get behind a local woman in business, this could be an excellent option for you (there are others on this list too, but this feels personal because I’ve read the blog for so long). Anyyyywaaaaay. The planner, right? Well, Emma Kate Co is one of the best I’ve seen; beautifully designed, has a great layout and journaling pages, and has a decent amount of heft. (Did I mention I was into such things? I like a planner to be hefty enough to hold its own).

 

My Mindful Year

I feel that I was gifted a My Mindful Year planner a few years ago. There is something familiar about this unique planner with its hand-drawn and illustrated interior. This planner is designed to be an exercise in mindfulness, and I love that. They offer a great week to view layout (even this day to view girl was a fan) and lots of room for activities and planning. If this planner is your choice, they contribute to charities with every planner sold; find out more on their website.

 

Plum Paper

I am not finding what you need. This last year (2021/2022), I’ve been using the Plum Paper brand from the U.S. with fully customisable pages, monthly tabs, and more. I took a recommendation from someone on this blog and found that there were offering blogging pages, planning and money pages. All the things I wanted and needed. Which most of them, you can add one set or add them to your monthly tabs. It’s a great option if you want a simple planner with many custom elements. So head over and play with their customisation prompts; build a planner style on their website here.

 

…

There we go, team! Thanks so much to everyone that offered suggestions for planners or joined the conversation on Instagram. (Not following me, WHAT are you doing, lady? Go here). Did I feature YOUR preferred brand? Tell me all about it. I know many people out there are also looking for planners. Let me know in the comments if YOU still use a paper planner or have gone digital.